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I just saw a Joe Pass video where he adjusts the action on his guitar during a rehearsal. The wheels on his bridge moved freely and he didn't have to loosen the strings.
My wheels are so tight they won't move. I don't want to take a pliers to them. Is there a trick to getting them loose?
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12-30-2020 12:27 PM
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Over the years, a huge amount of "gunk" amasses around those little wheel. So my recommendations is to dismantle and fully clean/lubricate the wheels at least one a year. Even with a fully clean bridge I don't think I would be able to raise my bridge using those wheels with the 14s flat-wounds I use on it...... Lowering it? probably, Raising it with 14s, no way for me
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Just depends on the guitar some you can and some you cannot. The above to lube with a bit of lube is not a bad idea. Some guitars the wheels are bigger and easy to grab. Some fellows have hands that are like vice grips.
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just slack off the strings ....
Originally Posted by Jack E Blue;[URL="tel:1086856"
i like vaseline as a lube
(but that’s another story children)
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I use a bit of suede leather to grip the wheels if trying to raise the action a bit under tension. Though pliers with nylon inserts might be a better tool than fingers. I keep the posts clean but don't use lube because that's would create a dust/grime magnet. Not like I'm moving it all that often.
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I suspect it also has something to do with neck set angle and Tailpiece break angle at the bridge.
On a guitar with already a very steep angle at the bridge probably the downward pressure will prevent raising easily the action with the thumbwheels without first loosing the strings.
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Joe Pass had magic fingers...
Mere mortals may apply physics by using an archtop guitar bridge DIY 'adjustment tool' for raising the wheels without loosing the strings. Two little wedges made of scrap hardwood do the trick - just push them against each other.
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Originally Posted by Ol' Fret
Joe Pass had magic fingers...
Mere mortals may apply physics by using an archtop guitar bridge DIY 'adjustment tool' for raising the wheels without loosing the strings. Two little wedges made of scrap hardwood do the trick - just push them against each other.
Good idea!
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Originally Posted by deacon Mark
Indeed ... Most you can, but some you can't
But if height is different at the thinner strings vs. the low ones then the uneven tension can also sometime lock the bridge. Then you just need to loosen the strings.
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Thanks for the responses. I really like that wedge idea. I'll give it a try.
In the Joe Pass video I mentioned he raised the action without loosening the strings first. Maybe he does have magic fingers.
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I was able yesterday to give a slight turn up on the treble side of my Barker guitar. Raised it from a really low 3/64. I have not moved the action on this guitar in years but had seem to drop a bit I think because winter hit here and colder.
For the record I don't have Joe's magical hands but not many do.
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I have a paint can opener, with the end bent for use as a bridge jack. Stew-Mac sells a bridge jack, which looks to work about the same, but for a lot more money. You can also put some small nylon or other plastic washers on the post under the saddle to make it easier to turn. I tend to sand and burnish the underside of the saddle around the post holes, which helps make them easier to turn. There is also a multitool available, which turns bridge wheels and pot/jack nuts. I have several options in my toolbox. The one I use depends on the situation. Guitar Multi Spanner Wrench Luthier Tool Adjustment Switch Jack Nut Tuner | eBay
Or if you have more money burning holes in your pockets, the Stew-Mac version: ESP Multi Spanner | stewmac.com
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By any chance can you post a link? Originally Posted by Jack E Blue
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It's buried somewhere in my history now. It's the one where he's giving a performance and seminar at what was then GIT. Don Mock is interviewing him. I think it's about 1 1/2 hours long. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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It's in the interview section of the video "An Evening with Joe Pass." Originally Posted by Woody Sound
Actually I don't think he actually turns the wheels. He makes the motion, but I am not certain whether anything actually happened.
On the YouTube of this video its at 12:44-13:20, he's talking about the action on the guitar. Hard to tell if he actually turned the wheels.
Last edited by lawson-stone; 01-06-2021 at 03:38 PM.
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I can turn the bridge wheels on my 175 without loosening the strings. It takes a bit of effort, but not too much.
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I have just changed strings on my AF95 and have adjusted the bridge with my fingers. No problem in that. I admit that I have earlier, when I purchased the guitar and swithched to an ebony bridge that I put the slightest bit of thin oil on the bridge screws in order to ease this. It seems to work, though some will then wish to discuss the problem of dust attaching to the screws. I prefer ease of adjustment in that case.
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You kids and your physics! Originally Posted by Ol' Fret
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Originally Posted by unknownguitarplayer
LOL, yes, kids believe in physics!
(Ignoring that thundering chorus of voices from the media-hyped parallel cosmos: "Old geezers like you have kindly to believe in alternative facts or something else!")
By any means, children in this case also believe in the effect of a smidgeon of PTFE-based grease put on the bridge post threads - ask your horn playing buddies ...
Joe Pass said he often had to lower or raise his guitar bridge. Though I'm more on the other end of Joe's guitarist chops, I have to do the same due to the seasonal changes of RH that thoroughly influence the height of the archtop guitar top. Instead of lowering/raising the bridge, some folks rather like to screw around the adjustable truss rod ... to each his own.Last edited by Ol' Fret; 01-06-2021 at 02:35 PM.
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Seasonal variation do tend to f... with neck bow and not bridge height tho Originally Posted by Ol' Fret
Which reminds me that having two fenders with the truss rod access being at the heel of the neck is actually annoying as hell.
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Bridge height and neck relief are interrelated. Changing relief doesn't change the actual bridge height, but it does affect the action height, which can then be adjusted by changing the bridge height. Both affect action.
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It is not so easy with hard tension strings/13 or 14/ on my hollow-body guitar...but it is possible to turn the bridge wheels. Originally Posted by grahambop
It is very easy with softer sets of strings.
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When the thumb wheel is stuck of hard to move, it can drive the rods through the bridge-base into the top. Keep an eye on that!
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On most guitars the bridge top rests directly on the thumb wheel so that there is a large frictional force between wood and metal out to the full radius of the wheel. On the Gibson Johnny Smith there are brass bushes set into the bridge top so that the contact between bridge and wheel is via a much smaller area with a small outer radius. The bridge is easily adjustable. A thin washer seems to work as well as the bush.
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Man up, be a player and loosen the strings to do what must be done. You can always re-tune. I'm not being snarky here, but, on my precious guitars, I don't take chances with stripping or breaking things. I have seen this happen.
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